Originally Published in Nyack News and Views
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview four members of the steering committee for Indivisible Rockland, the local chapter of the National Indivisible organization, on my podcast BEING FRANK. Indivisible Rockland defines itself as being “residents of New York’s 17th Congressional District, united in our commitment to defend democracy and oppose any actions that undermine the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. In their efforts to weaken institutions and erode democratic norms, we stand together to ensure that the current administration is held accountable, upholding civil liberties and justice for everyone.”*
Pascale Jean-Giles, Nelcy Garcia De
Leon, Tracey Obenauer, and Bill Batson shared an hour with us to describe their
mission, message, methods, and tactics for uniting like-minded people in their efforts
to resist what they collectively see as an Administration bent on establishing
the principals of Project 2025 at the expense of personal freedoms,
especially for people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Indivisible Rockland, an entirely volunteer organization without a defined budget, has been independently active since 2024 and has already created several successful, highly visible, well-attended events throughout the County. Until a recent fundraiser featuring comedians Michael Ian Black and Pete Dominick, they were entirely privately funded by members of their own committee. Included in the most recent Indivisible actions were a March Across The Cuomo Bridge from Nyack to mid-span to coincide and show solidarity with the 70th anniversary of The March for Freedom across The Edmund Pettit Bridge in Selma, Alabama that became known as “Bloody Sunday” for the attack on peaceful marchers that day. Additionally, the event at the Four Corners Intersection on Route 59 in Nanuet on April 5th, organized to coincide with the National Day of Protest, drew a crowd estimated to be 1200, a very high number for such a small geographical area.
In addition to the incredible
passion and dedication to their cause expressed by every member of our panel,
what may have struck me most was how truly AMERICAN they were. It was
made up of the type of diversity that really makes us great.
Pascale is an African American woman with roots in Haiti. Nelcy emigrated from the Dominican Republic
and is raising her family here. Tracey, a white woman, volunteers 30-40 hours a
week to the organization despite her disability. Bill is bi-racial and comes
from a family that has made the diverse community of Nyack their home for many
generations. In other words, each represents a spoke on the great wheel that
keeps America rolling along. All have compelling reasons to resist the vision
of America being constructed by the Trump Administration. And they’re willing
to dedicate themselves to the cause to change it.
Yet, despite this diversity, they share
a common ethos, a mind-set that binds them and everyone I have
encountered within this ever-growing organization. And that’s their HUMANITY.
Each person shares a vision of an inclusive America where EVERYONE is truly equal
under the law with NO EXCEPTIONS. Whereas Mr. Trump seems to follow a punitive
approach to governance where cruelty IS the point, Indivisible is
determined to follow the principals of nonviolence and compassion as preached
and practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King. This may sound like a paradox but we
have to find the right way to fight for peace as he once did.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only
light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." MLK
Strength to Love, 1963.
* https://indivisiblerockland.org/about
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